Extinct: Andaman tribe’s extermination complete as last member dies
Survival International Press Release
4 February 2010
The last member of a unique tribe has died on India’s
Andaman Islands.
Boa Sr, who died last week aged around 85, was the last
speaker of ‘Bo’, one of the ten Great Andamanese
languages. The Bo are thought to have lived in the Andaman
Islands for as much as 65,000 years, making them the
descendants of one of the oldest human cultures on Earth.
Listen to Boa Sr singing in Bo
Boa Sr was the oldest of the Great Andamanese, who now
Boa Sr was the last member of the Bo tribe.
number just 52. Originally ten distinct tribes, the Great
© Alok Das/Survival.
Andamanese were 5,000 strong when the British
colonized the Andaman Islands in 1858. Most were killed or died of diseases brought by the colonizers.
Having failed to ‘pacify’ the tribes through violence, the British tried to 'civilize' them by capturing many
and keeping them in an ‘Andaman Home’. Of the 150 children born in the home, none lived beyond the
age of two.
The surviving Great Andamanese depend largely on the Indian government for food and shelter, and
abuse of alcohol is rife.
Boa Sr survived the Asian tsunami of December 2004, and told linguists, ‘We were all there when the
earthquake came. The eldest told us ‘the Earth would part, don’t run away or move’. The elders told us,
that’s how we know.’
Linguist Prof. Anvita Abbi, who knew Boa Sr for many years, said, ‘Since she was the only speaker of
[Bo] she was very lonely as she had no one to converse with… Boa Sr. had a very good sense of humour
and her smile and full throated laughter were infectious.’
‘You cannot imagine the pain and anguish that I spend each day in being a mute witness to the loss of a
remarkable culture and unique language.’
Boa Sr told Abbi she felt the neighbouring Jarawa tribe, who have not been decimated, were lucky to live
in their forest away from the settlers who now occupy much of the Islands.
Survival International’s director Stephen Corry said today, ‘The Great Andamanese were first massacred,
then all but wiped out by paternalistic policies which left them ravaged by epidemics of disease, and
robbed of their land and independence.
‘With the death of Boa Sr and the extinction of the Bo language, a unique part of human society is now
just a memory. Boa’s loss is a bleak reminder that we must not allow this to happen to the other tribes of
the Andaman Islands.’
To read this story online: http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/5509
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